Moving To Jacksonville Need Info (Plantation, Hampton: real estate market, apartment, rental) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

glenndar · 07-05-2011, 10:50 AM

My husband and I are moving to Jacksonville at the end of the year. We need help in deciding where to move. We will rent at first to make sure the neighborhood is a good fit for us. We are a very young 55+ couple. My husband still works but the commute is not a problem. We both play golf, enjoy good restaurants, like to go to the theater, enjoy entertaining. We are social and are looking for a friendly neighborhood. We are moving from a small town just about 45 minutes of Seattle Wa. a place called Gig Harbor. We want a safe place. We woiuld go to the beach but not as sun lovers we once were but rather not as a morning or evening walk instead. We live in a very nice gated community now and want a great place to live where we can get the most bang for our buck. Any suggestions?

madcapmagishion · 07-05-2011, 12:50 PM

Probably the most important question we could ask is a delicate one. How much are you looking to spend on rent and then on buying a home? Because Jacksonville is a widely diverse area and for $800 rent in Riverside for a nice 2 bedroom, it will cost upwards of $2000 in some of the premier beach gated communities like Queens Harbour or Marsh Landing or The Plantation.(and I'm not to sure if you can even rent in those areas now, when I lived at the Plantation 25 yrs ago you could not rent out your home. An HOA thing) Maybe a place like Riverwood in Nocatee would be ideal it is a gated community not to far from the beach, but again I am not sure of rental availability as its a brand new community. Does not have it's own golf course yet, but has playing privileges with some nearby they say. Heres a link ...
Riverwood at Nocatee:
Riverwood at Nocatee: Ponte Vedra, FL, New homes by Del Webb

glenndar · 07-05-2011, 07:00 PM

We would like to keep our rent @ $2,000 or below. We perfer a house over an apartment but we would like approx 1800 - 2000 sq. Ft. all on one level.

JBtwinz · 07-05-2011, 07:19 PM

Amelia Island, but that will depend on where you need to commute to. Good Luck, lots of great neighborhoods in Jax, from urban to the suburbs to the beaches.

madcapmagishion · 07-05-2011, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBtwinz

Amelia Island, but that will depend on where you need to commute to. Good Luck, lots of great neighborhoods in Jax, from urban to the suburbs to the beaches.

Amelia Island is a good place to look but personally I would look a little more west towards I-95 across the inter coastal bridge in communities like Amelia National or North Hampton both are very nice with truly great golf courses. Back on Amelia island is another nice place to look at called Summer Beach where the Ritz Carlton is located. Also in the mix is Amelia Island Plantation with 3 fairly good 9's and one great course at Long Point at the southern end of the island. All the above except for North Hampton are gated communities.

Crimjustice · 07-06-2011, 01:29 PM

Maybe Ponte Vedra, has beaches and tons of golf... But luckily you are in the golf capital ... You are never more than a few minutes away from a golf course, or the beaches..

lifelister1 · 10-18-2011, 05:41 PM

I have lived in Jacksonville for 20 years, several at Amelia Island, and now in the Riverside-Avondale neighborhood. I retired here from Chicago. First, you will find the summer weather VERY hot compared to Seattle. Downtown Jax is pretty uninspiring but the symphony is excellent and many artists and touring companies perform here. Oct. to June can be very nice with short spells of "winter". Amelia Island Plantation is a gorgeous gated community and Amelia Island itself now has many other wonderful home options. Most residents at the Plantation are "older" and very affluent. Fernandina is the little town on Amelia Island and is quite picturesque. Boating is big. Golf is king. Commuting to downtown Jacksonville or the busy south side of Jax will take about an hour. Personally, given your age, I would rent in the tree-lined Avondale area which is the historic district and has a great little restaurant-shopping street. It is loaded with parks and all streets end at the St. John's river. You can zip into downtown Jax for the theater and cultural options in ten minutes. St. Vincent's Hospital provides excellent medical service. This is an area where everyone walks, bikes, know their neighbors, hold block parties and welcome diverse ages and lifestyles. This is not a subdivision: the homes vary widely in age and architectural styles. The effect overall is charming and vibrant. I left Amelia Island Plantation at 55 because I personally did not want to live in a gated community and feel "retired" with mostly alot of other older "retired" people, nice as they were. I like have much older and much younger friends and neighbors . Due to the soft real estate market, there are great deals here and many lovely homes can be rented while their owners hope for the market to improve.

alfbroker · 10-19-2011, 07:06 AM

You are wise to rent rather than buy. Florida appeals to many at first glance but over 1000 people a day pack up at move out. It's a revolving door state. Other posters are correct. JAX is huge and is filled with so many pockets of areas, it's hard to mention just a few if you don't have a place mentioned to commute to. Most people moving in are happier if they match their past surroundings with their new ones. If you loved the small town and sense of community of the area you are moving from, that will be harder to find in FL. Try to find a pocket of town with less concrete, congestion and residents who don't care about the area. Maybe a short term furnished rental until you find the right area?